On the Flap

What happens in Vegas...maybe a miracle!

Ryan and Grace Sullivan have all the outward indications of a happy life: money, success, an undeniable physical attraction that quickly evolved from whirlwind relationship to marriage. But lately, Ryan's become moody and distant. As their relationship starts to crumble, Ryan discovers something about himself he can't admit just as Grace realizes the young man she encounters at an invitation only party, Henri Christophe, a celebrity chef with the most successful restaurant in Las Vegas, is her husband's lover. But Henri holds a secret himself. He wants to be more to both of them.

As they attempt to make their unconventional arrangement work, Ryan's deep-seated fear of relationship failure continues to thwart everyone's happiness. When he finally walks away instead of confronting the emotional connection the trio shares, he returns to find their lives flipped inside out. A sought after hotel and resort consultant, Ryan has yet to meet a problem he couldn't solve. But when it comes to his own heart, he may be too late.

Review

Wow or whoa. I’m not sure which, probably a little of both. This is an extremely fast read. I sat down and was through it in a couple of hours. Even if it was a long read, I don’t think I could have put it down if I wanted. The structure of the story is a bit different. It has present day as well as flashbacks and the timeline jumps around quite a bit, but it is easy to follow so you’re never lost. Because it’s a short read and covers around seven years’ time, it’s like we only get snippets of the story. This left me wanting more; more of the individual relationships and more of the three together.

This is a tremendously emotional story ironically because of Ryan’s inability to deal with emotions. As the more expressively stunted member of the group, he refuses to truly open up to Grace but does so with ease with Henri. Because he continues to make decisions with this hindrance, he actuals hurts both of the people he loves as well as himself. Based on the synopsis, I figured there is a bit of a cheating scenario to the story and there is. I’ll try not to pull out my soapbox even though I really hate cheating and this one lasts for a while before being brought to Grace’s attention but it is central to the angst and conflict to the plot so I can understand the need.

Speaking of Ryan…since he is the crux of the tension, he is easy to dislike even though you’ll pull for him all the way through. I perpetually wished throughout the story Ryan would communicate. He would keeping avoiding emotions or dropping bombs on these people and expects them to just be okay with it. Shockingly, it seems for the most part they were. Throughout much of the story I kept feeling Grace was stuck with the short end of the stick as Ryan would run to Henri and share things with him but not with her. It seemed he would make time for Henri and simply try to give Grace presents in lieu of himself when all she wanted was him.

The story has F/M, M/M, F/F, M/F/M and probably just about everything in between. While I normally don’t seek out the M/M stories (There’s nothing wrong with it. It just doesn’t do it for me.) I do find all of the scenes in the story to be undeniably scintillating and erotic. The book is filled with passion and understanding. Perhaps as a testament to the author in the end despite the fact that we get a satisfying HEA but I still want more. I would love to see another story of the three.

I have a large appetite for books with pensive alpha males. I tend to lean towards erotica and contemporary romance. I am completely addicted to my Kindle and feel naked when it’s not with me. If you have any recommendations, feel free to email them. I’m a single-ish woman with two crazy dogs. I also love football and basketball. Living in Oklahoma City, my teams are the Thunder and Sooners.